Hi there,

My name is Christine. I'm scheduled to have surgery on November 16th. in Minneapolis @ the U of M.  I'm a little nervous and exited at the same time. I have a couple of great books that answer most of the questions. But, they don't really give the human aspect of what life is like after surgery.

I'm concerened that my life will be that of me eating mush for the rest of my life. I know that my "new stomach" will decide for itself what it likes and doesn't. I'm looking for people who have a bit of advice or words of wisdom to share. How was surgery for you? Is the death rate as high as some studies would have you believe? Are you happy with the results? Do you miss the foods that are off limits to you now?

Thank you so much. Any answers, personal stories, advice would be awesome.

I'm not sure which studies you are referring to.  The stats I've seen say the death rate is about one in 350, which is about the same as the death rate for morbidly obese people having any type of major surgery.  In other words, your chances of dying from RNY are about the same as your chances of dying if you had to have your gall bladder removed or a C-section or any other major surgery at your weight.  The risk does vary depending on how much you weigh and your overall health - someone that weighs 250 lbs and has no serious health problems is less likely to die during RNY than someone that weighs 500 lbs, has high blood pressure, heart trouble and sleep apnea.

I don't think I've ever heard of anyone eating mush for the rest of their lives after RNY.  It's certainly not the norm!  I don't eat a lot of mush.  I do enjoy yogurt, so I eat a fair amount of that.  But I think I eat fairly normal foods.  I eat all kinds of things, include beans, chili, yogurt, all sorts of veggies, soup, salads, bread, some rice, occasionally pasta, pizza, cookies (usually sugar free), muffins, eggs, etc.  I go out to eat at places like Chipotle, Panera, Applebee's, etc. 

There really aren't any foods off limits to me now, except those I chose not to eat.  I am a vegetarian, have been for 25 years, and no, I do not miss meat.  I have recently decided not to buy eggs at the grocery store but to buy eggs from free range chickens at a local farm only.  I don't miss grocery store eggs, except when I run out of eggs and don't have an hour to run out to the farm to buy some right away.  I have cut way back on dairy products and am eating only yogurt and occasionally cheese.  I plan to start buying raw milk as soon as I can find a place to get it and to make my own yogurt then.  I don't miss milk, I'm perfectly happy with soy milk, but sometimes I do miss cheese.  But I am choosing not to eat it, I could eat it if I wanted to.

I avoid foods with lots of sugar because too much sugar makes me sick but I can eat up to about 12 grams at a time without any problem.  I limit the starchy carbs but eat them sometimes.  Once in a while I do miss being able to eat a ton of food, like being able to scarf down half a pizza all by myself.  But I am also glad I can no longer do that.  And I can eat pizza, just not half of one.

I am very happy with the results of my surgery.  I lost almost 150 pounds.  My knees never hurt any more, I can shop in regular stores, I don't get out of breath walking up stairs, etc.  I love it.

Hi Poet Kelly,

Try out "Veggie Slices". It's a soy cheese, and they taste just like the real deal to me. There are several flavors, and can be found in most grocery stores.

I've had soy cheese before, but maybe not that brand.  The one I tried I didn't like that much.  It wasn't terrible but it kind of reminded me of processed American cheese, like those slices wrapped in plastic that kind of taste like plastic.  But soy cheese also has very little protein.  I really like the taste of cheese, but I also used it for a good part of my protein.  I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do about cheese.

Hi Again Poet Kelly,

They have slices like processed cheese food as well as blocks and shreds. They definitely don't taste like anything from the local creamery. The protein content is 6 grams per oz ( I pasted the full nutritional stats at the end of this post). I also added a recipe from their website that I think would fit your vegetarian lifestyle. It has a Tablespoon of slivered almonds which would boost the recipe up to 15 grams of protein total. Still low I realize, but perhaps some plain protein powder could be added to beef up the content more. This definitely wouldn't go in a picnic basket with wine, and grapes, but it's not bad either. Oh, and before I forget, did I ever mention that I like cheap wine, so you'll have to consider the source ;)

Kat

Baby Pea Stuffed Pepper With Veggie Pepper Jack

Makes 1 Serving(s)

Ingredients

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Nonstick vegetable spray, as needed

1 medium red pepper, uniform

½ cup frozen baby peas

1 tablespoon slivered or sliced almonds, toasted

2 sprigs thyme leaves, fresh (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)

1 ounce Veggie Block Pepper Jack Flavor, sliced 1/8" thick (or simply substitute the Veggie block with your favorite Galaxy product)

1 ounce Veggie Block Pepper Jack Flavor, crumbled (or simply substitute the Veggie block with your favorite Galaxy product)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl, mix frozen peas, thyme, and the crumbled Veggie Pepper Jack.

Trip the top off of the red pepper, approximately ½" below the very top. Remove the seed and stems that may be inside of the hollow pepper. Stuff the pea mixture into the hollow pepper.

Place on a baking sheet or oven safe pan. Spray quickly with vegetable oil spray. Place in oven.

Cook for 25 minutes until the Veggie Pepper Jack is melted and the mixture inside registers 150 degrees on a meat thermometer. The Veggie Pepper Jack on top should be lightly browned and melted well.

Almonds

Veggie Blocks from Galaxy Nutrition

Serv Size 1 oz (28g) Servings 8
Amount Per Serving	% Daily Value**
Calories: 70
Calories from Fat: 35
Total Fat: 4g	6%
Saturated Fat: 0g	0%
Trans Fat: 0g
Polyunsat Fat: 1.5g
Monounsat Fat: 2.5g
Cholesterol: 0mg	0%
Sodium: 290mg	12%
Total Carbohydrate: 2g	1%
Dietary Fiber: 0g	0%
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 6g

Oh, that looks delicious!  I have to try that.  And that's not bad for protein either.  I know the soy cheese I looked at not too long ago was lower in protein that this so maybe it varied depending on the brand.  Thank you.

You are always welcome. I hope it suits your taste.

Regarding the death rate. I looked at it like this... all types of people have thsi surgery... those who are poor risks for surgery are included in this category, because obese patients are naturally at higher risk in major surgeries due to the comorbidities that come with obesity. I'd had surgery before and did just fine. I reasoned that having surgery was not that risky if I had fewer comorbidities particularly cardiovascular issues. but every person is a new situation.

I don't eat mush, never ate mush
I'm happy being a thin person instead of a fat person
I'm happy that my weight seems to remain fairly consistent
I don't miss anything but cookies.

I have reactive hypoglycemia and I dump like a truck.... but from teh time I started having symptoms of hypoglycemia I haven't dumped because I watch my sugars more with the hypoglycemia than just dumping. Wish I didn't have it that way.

Right now I'm frightened to try new foods, but my endocrinologist seems to beleive that I will do fine if I limit carbs to 25 grams or fewer, with fat carbs in the single digits.

Hi Christine: 


Thanks for your post.  Not sure where you got the idea of eating "mush" for the rest of your life. You eat soft foods for a few weeks and graduate up to normal food within a reasonable amount of time. I am 4 months out and eat normally.  the only things that I do not eat are refined carbs such as rice, pasta, bread etc...only because I have a problem with carbs - the problem is, is that I love them :-)  So to keep myself in line, I don't eat them.  I eat steak, beans, vegetables, chili, shrimp, peanut butter, most cheese, eggs, turkey sausage, ground Beef, turkey or chicken, soups (without pasta),

To answer your questions....

How was surgery for you? My surgery was easy breezy.  I had one hiccup after surgery b/c I moved to a stage too quickly, my food "sat" in my stomach and I got dehydrated and ended up in the hospital for fluids.  Other than that it has been smooth sailing.  I am however compliant about chewing many times before swallowing and never drinking while I eat and waiting 30-60 minutes to drink after a meal to drink.  A little constipation, but that is remedied by the stool softeners that I take per my doctor's advice.

Is the death rate as high as some studies would have you believe? I incorporate Kelly's answer re: death rate and she is a very knowledgeable woman.  Also, rate of death for RNY is lower than some other surgeries

Are you happy with the results?  I am SOOOOOOOOOO happy with my results.  I love the malabsorption that assist us with the weight loss and the modified small tummy that restricts portions of food.  Portion control is what I need.  I am  months out and have lost 80 lbs (including 6 pounds that I lost before surgery).

Do you miss the foods that are off limits to you now?  There is no food that is off limits to me...except my self imposed restricted foods that I listed earlier and I stay awy from high fat food.  I really don't miss them, but tastes do change after surgery - there is a lot that I DON'T want now. 

Seriously, we are here to support you.  Join a support group that you can attend in person - those are very helpful.  I am thrilled and happy with my surgery and look forward to the future - taking off the rest of my weight off AND TO KEEP IT OFF FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep in touch.

I concur. This is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I am about 2 weeks out and trying new foods daily. I have had wendy's chili, spinach quiche, fruit, panara bread's steak chili and broccoli and cheese soup. Also, greek yougart, McDonald's scrambled eggs with cheese and their oatmeal. Last night I had some ham with a hardboiled egg and cheese with Wladen Farm's sugar/calorie free honey mustard sauce. I even tried one small bite of an orange corn muffin (gave the rest to the dog, my concience, lol).

So, I'd say I am not missing out on anything and I just started soft foods on Wednesday.

Good Luck!!